“Smoking Not ‘Lesser Evil’ in Mental Health Treatment Settings”

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This November 24, 2014 NBC article talks about the problems with the belief by many in the mental health and addiction communities where they think that smoking is better than doing drugs or somehow helps people cope.  the article offers some information about the number of hospitalizations and difficulty managing symptoms of mental illness among those who smoke.

“Smoking and mental health, what’s the connection?”

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This July 15, 2014 article on TheGuardian website in the United Kingdom talks about the high number of people with mental illnesses who smoke and looks at not only research, but offers some insight into some things that could be considered to be “cultural views” on smoking within the mental health community that have been historically seen in both the professionals and the people who are diagnosed with a mental illness.  The article also seems to say that it is harder for someone with a mental illness to quit smoking than it is for someone without a mental illness to carry out the same thing.  While researchers don’t know why this is, there is definitely a growing trend towards trying to understand this strong connection between mental illness and tobacco addiction.

Smoke (Photo credit: paulbence)

Related articles

• New Study Shows More Smoking Bans And Taxes Lead To Fewer Smoking Related Deaths (smartsign.com)
• CVS cigarette and tobacco ban sign of larger healthcare trend (practicefusion.com)
• State mental health facilities in NC going smoke-free this summer (newsobserver.com)
• Smoking by mentally ill ‘ignored’ (bbc.co.uk)
• Tobacco is still America’s top health threat. But Washington doesn’t treat it that way. (washingtonpost.com)
• Smoking and Mental Health (psychologytoday.com)
• Smokers with mental health issues need more help (scotsman.com)
• Building For The Future: Britain Bans Smoking For Anyone Born After The Year 2000 (elitedaily.com)
• Smoking cessation may improve mental health (medicalxpress.com)
• Mental Illness May Shorten Lifespan More Than Smoking, New Study Finds (publichealthwatch.wordpress.com)

“Stimulant treatment for ADHD may also reduce smoking risk”

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This May 12, 2014 article found on the MNT website talks about a possible link between treating kids who have ADHD with stimulants and a decreased risk of starting smoking.  While researchers aren’t clear on why this connection exists and feel more research is needed to figure out the link, they do feel there is some connection between the two things even if they don’t understand it yet.

English: Adderall (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

“State wants landlords to ban smoking”

The No Smoking sign, designed by one of the members of AIGA (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 

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This March 13, 2014 article from The Inquirer found on the Philly.com website talks about a trend in Pennsylvania where landlords are opting to not allow smoking in multi-unit  buildings.  This is something that is being encouraged by the state, but at this point is a suggestion and not a mandate, meaning it is optional for landlords to do it or not do it, the choice is theirs.

 

 

 

Related articles

 

 

 

• State wants landlords to ban smoking (philly.com)
• What Landlords Need to Know to Go Smoke Free (houstonevictions.com)
• Can Your Landlord Evict You for Smoking? (blogs.lawyers.com)
• It Is Now Illegal To Smoke In Your Own Home In San Rafael, California (reason.com)

 

“CVS To Stop Selling Tobacco Products”

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This February 5, 2014 NPR “The Two-way” article talks about a decision being made by the CEO of CVS to stop the sale of tobacco products in all CVS locations by October 1.  The decision is based on their desire to promote health and wellness.  CVS is indicating that they will be offering a variety of smoking cessation tools to help those who would like to consider quitting their tobacco habit.

 

CVS Caremark Corporation logo (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 

Related articles

• CVS is getting out of the tobacco game (washingtontimes.com)
• CVS to Stop Selling Cigarettes – Wall Street Journal (online.wsj.com)
• CVS Caremark plans stop selling tobacco products (triblive.com)
• Obama praises CVS for pulling tobacco from shelves (kvue.com)
• Obama praises CVS for pulling tobacco from shelves (metronews.ca)
• CVS Caremark, No. 2 Drugstore Chain, Will End All Tobacco Sales (ktla.com)

 

“Walking Cure: Strolls Can Help Teen Smokers to Quit”

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This April 9, 2012 article on the TIME Health & Family website talks about a recent study that indicates an increase in physical activity may be helpful for teens to quit smoking.

 

“New CDC Vital Signs: Smoking among those with Mental Illness”

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This March 7, 2013 article on the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette website talks about the higher percentage of smokers among those in the mental health community, and suggestions from the CDC about how to approach this issues in the mental health community.

I also found a CDC video on YouTube that compliments the above link if you prefer to watch/listen to it as opposed to reading the article.

Video Link

Related articles

• New CDC Vital Signs: Smoking among those with Mental Illness (prweb.com)
• Smoking Rates Much Higher Among the Mentally Ill: CDC (nlm.nih.gov)
• Smoking Rates Much Higher Among the Mentally Ill: CDC (news.health.com)
• Smoking Among U.S. Adults With Mental Illness 70 Percent Higher Than For Adults With No Mental Illness (medicalnewstoday.com)
• Mentally Ill People Smoke A Lot More Than People Without Mental Illness (medicalnewstoday.com)
• CDC: People With Mental Illness More Likely To Smoke Cigarettes (atlanta.cbslocal.com)
• Smoking more common among mentally ill (jsonline.com)